Wandering Rascals: Les Vacances, Part 1: Portugal

Like 99.9% of people living in France, we took about 3 weeks off in August to go on vacation. We opted to head southwest to two countries we hadn't been to yet; where warm weather rules, wine is delicious, and tiles are everywhere: Portugal and Spain.

To Americans, it seems like Portugal is the red-headed step child of Europe. Nobody talks about Portugal, it's rarely on people's 'travel bucket list', and apparently some people probably don't even realize it's in Europe (I did actually overhear someone once ask where Portugal was located in South America). We knew Lisbon would be pretty touristy, but we naively assumed the deeper we went into Portugal, the less tourists we would encounter. Americans may not have descended upon this gem of a country, but the English make up for it.

Chris and Lilah enjoying their first Pasteis De Nata - the best Portuguese pastry, a custard-filled bite of heaven.

We started off in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Many of it's tiny streets are cobble-stoned by experts who go to a special school to learn the trade, which makes walking down the streets that much more picturesque when accompanied by the colorfully-tiled building walls. Cute little trams roam the streets (and will take you down if you aren't paying attention), along with tuk-tuks, motorcycles, and the occasional small car. Lisbon is a port city, and at a quick glance, you might think you're in San Francisco due to the large, red suspension bridge crossing the water that looks just like the Golden Gate Bridge.

Tiles and cobblestones

View from the top of Lisbon (Golden Gate Bridge look-alike to the left of Chris)

At the Jeronimos Monastery in Belem

At the Sao Jorge Castle in Lisbon

Next stop on the trip was Sintra, a mountain-town just West of Lisbon, that is home to three amazing structures - a castle, a palace, and a very eccentric mansion. We hit two of the three (opted out of the castle since we visited one in Lisbon and were headed to Spain next where there are castles-a-plenty). The Regalaeia was one of the coolest places we've ever seen - if I ever build a palace, I want it to be as awesome as this place.

Inverted tower at the Regaleria Mansion

Happy hour at our house. Vihno verde, fresh bread, home-pickled olives, and a view of all of the sites in Sintra

Same delicious food, cuter view.

Pena Palace, colorful and wonderful

Close-up of the Pena Palace

Family photo from the Palace

Dinner in Sintra

After walking for what seemed like 4 days straight, we needed a break! We drove down to Southern Portugal for the rest of our stay and enjoyed some perfect days at the beach. We took a boat tour of the grottos (caves), and played in the sand. Lilah loves the beach, and we love exploring it with her.